March of the Rising Sun
by Doom Master 1990
Summary: Boomer and the other rowdyruffs have a change of heart.
1. Vanished

After leaving Mojo Jojo and Him to bicker amongst themselves, Brick, Boomer, and Butch glided through the air without any real goal or aim. Neither Brick nor his dark-haired sibling cared to think about their situation in a grander context, but the third brother, the most reserved of the trio, was lost deep in thought. With no other people for companionship but each other, Boomer wondered what they were supposed to do now. Causing mayhem and chaos was fun for a while, but now...

_"Is this all there is...?"_

* * *

Boomer vanished shortly after he began questioning his own existence. At first, Brick and Butch weren't concerned at all. They assumed he had somehow gotten himself lost due to his own ineptitude. However, as time went on, something began to overtake their consciousness. It was a feeling both unfamiliar and undesired. They searched high and low for their missing brother, but to no avail.

"Where did that stupid go," Butch spat in frustration.

"If I knew that, we wouldn't be looking for him!"

"Guess we'll have to blow everything up."

Brick smacked his brother across the side of his head.

"If we do that, we might end up killing him!"

"Oh, yeah..."

Butch rubbed his skull to ease the throbbing caused by his brother's strike.

"You suck, ya' know that?"

"You can cry about it later, ya' big baby."

"...I miss him."

Brick's expression softened at his brother's emotional display. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried too.

"Don't be such a worry wart. He'll be fine."

"...Yeah..."

* * *

Two years crept by with nary a peep from the missing rowdyruff. His brothers grew increasingly desperate to find their lost link. Every day became an unbearable tribulation. They struggled to conceal their anguish, losing many nights of sleep in the process. Their tempers were ready to boil over at any moment...

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were spending their free time in their room. It wasn't very often they could unwind without much to do, considering their primary occupation. Blossom brushed her hair while Bubbles played with her stuffed animals nearby. Buttercup sat atop her section of the bed, allowing her muscles to release their tension after a tiresome training session.

"WHERE IS HE," a voice suddenly screamed from outside. Brick and Butch crashed through the walls of the room. Before the girls could so much as veer their heads, they found themselves being gripped around their throats by their enraged counterparts. "WHERE IS OUR BROTHER!?"

"What are you guys talking about," Buttercup responded fearfully.

Blossom looked around.

"Wait...Where's Boomer," she asked.

"DON'T LIE TO ME," Brick shrieked, "YOU CAPTURED HIM AGAIN!"

"Would you stop shouting!? We didn't steal your brother! Go check the lab if you don't believe us!"

The remaining rowdyruffs dashed into the professor's lab in the basement.

"Looks like she was telling the truth," Butch realized.

"Yeah, I see that! You know what that means, right!?"

"Yeah...We're still no closer to finding him..."

* * *

Blossom rubbed her throat to ease her discomfort. It was difficult for her to comprehend the furious strength she had felt clasp around her neck.

"I've never seen them that angry before," Buttercup commented.

"Is Boomer really missing," Bubbles questioned.

"It looks that way," Blossom replied.

"I guess they're just as human as anyone else after all...," Buttercup remarked.

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"We have to help them find him. Something weird is going on."

"Do you think Mojo Jojo or Him took him," Bubbles inquired.

"I doubt it."

The girls flew down to the lab where their adversaries stood contemplating the predicament they found themselves in.

"Hey...," the leader of the of the powerpuffs said with concern, "are you guys okay...?"

"What do you care...," Brick spoke venomously.

"Listen...We know what its like to lose someone important to us."

The brothers stared with confusion at her statement.

"We had a fourth sister we created in secret. We were exhausted from constantly saving Townsville. We used the wrong ingredients and measurements. She ended up being malformed and unstable. After she saved us from being beaten by escaped convicts, she combusted."

"You mean she...?"

"She died."

"Woah...I had no idea..."

"We'll help you find him."

"For real!?"

"On one condition: stop causing trouble in Townsville. We're tired of fighting all the time. The less we have to, the better."

"You've got a deal, toots."

"Don't call me that..."

* * *

"Hello, girls," the mayor greeted.

"We have a favor to ask," Blossom said.

"Of course! What can I do for you?"

"We're on sort of a search and rescue mission."

"Search and rescue," Sarah Bellum asked.

"One of the rowdyruff boys has gone missing. His brothers don't have any leads."

"I don't follow," the mayor replied, "Why are you trying to find him? It's one less problem for the city to deal with."

"This is personal on our part. It's hard to explain."

"I understand," Sarah responded, "Tell us what you need."

"Five radios. We need to keep in touch with each other when we split up, and we don't have phones."

"Wait here."

Sarah left the room momentarily. She returned with the radios the girls requested.

"Be careful. This could be a trap."

Blossom shook her head.

"I don't think so."

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup rushed outside. They gave the brothers their radios.

"By the way, I forgot to ask earlier - how long has he been missing?"

"He disappeared around the time everyone was looking for the world key."

"That explains why you weren't there."

"We don't care about controlling the world."

"Really?"

"What would be the point? We'd just get bored anyway."

"That's true. Now I'm really worried about Boomer, though."

"Why?"

"He's been gone for a long time. The longer someone's missing, well..."

"He's not dead! We're gonna' find him!"

Brick and Butch stormed off in a fit of anger.

"I hope you're right..."


	2. Transparency

Boomer rested his eyes inside his self-constructed igloo. Had they been open, he would have seen the manifestation of breath emanating from his body. Of course, by now, it was a sight he was all too accustomed to. He was sick of seeing - sick of feeling. Over the last seven hundred-thirty days, his hair had grown a great deal longer, as well as several shades brighter. It was perpetually tamed with a baby blue hair tie. The rowdyruff had exchanged his uniform sweatshirt for a white tank top and black duster coat. His sneakers were now a solid shade of black, and he had added a black belt with a silver buckle to his jeans. By this time, he had spent much of his solitude attempting to modify an age-old saying, "no rest for the weary". He was far beyond weary. His existence had become akin to that of a ghost. He could no longer be seen or heard, but his presence could be unquestionably felt.

_"I'm so tired..."_

* * *

Bubbles hovered near the edge of the North Pole. She used her radio to contact the others,

"Have you guys seen anything," she asked worriedly.

"Not here," Blossom answered.

"Nope," Buttercup said.

"Zilch here," Brick replied.

"Nada," Butch responded.

The blonde puff approached the ice leading to solid land. From high above, she could make out two distinct shapes.

_"That wasn't here before."_

She descended slightly for a closer look.

_"Is that...!?"_

The second, smaller shape rose to its feet and entered the larger one. Bubbles almost didn't recognize it due to the length of its locks.

_"...Boomer...?"_

The puff considered going in by herself, but she recognized everyone else wanted an explanation as much as she did. She operated her radio again.

"Guys...I found him."

* * *

Boomer was listening to music on a portable CD player when his brothers and the girls crawled in. He slowly removed his headphones.

"Brick...Butch...?"

As he looked into his brother's eyes, Brick's anger faded away. At first, he'd wanted to beat Boomer's head in for scaring him so badly, but when the two locked gazes, Brick saw a broken man. Boomer's body was functioning, but his soul was frozen in limbo. Brick had never seen anyone look so worn down - none of them had.

"Guess you had to ask the sissies to help find me, huh," Boomer chuckled weakly. His words were hollow. It was clear he held no ill will towards the girls. In fact, he sounded relieved to see them.

"Is this where you've been the whole time?"

"I don't have much of a concept of time these days."

"What happened to you?"

"You mean why did I leave?"

"Yeah. What gives?"

"I was tired of causing trouble in Townsville. It wasn't fun anymore."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"So you could smack me upside the head and tell me I was being stupid? No, thanks."

Boomer's words stung more than either of his brother's expected. Just like Bubbles, he had the misfortune of being the team punching bag, so to speak. It was already clear he was fed up with Brick's and Butch's abuse.

"So...How did you end up here," Blossom cut in.

"I went around to different cities for a while and just kind of...Ended up here."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but...I guess I got scared."

"Scared?"

"Have you guys ever really paid attention to the temperaments of the people back home?"

"What do you mean?"

"People in this world are full of ignorance and spite. I found that out while I was wandering around."

"Everyone in Townsville seems pretty happy to me."

"It's a mask. They have to act normal so nobody gets suspicious. You have no idea what kind of monsters are walking around in human skin."

"I'm not sure I want to know..."

"Not long before I came here, there were reports about children going missing. I didn't know about the reports at the time, but I was the one who found them. I started hearing weird noises with my super hearing I'd never heard before. I followed the sounds to an underground passage in the sewers. There were three kids a bit older than us there. They were beaten, cut, and burned. One of them was bleeding from her bad touch place."

Even Buttercup and Butch were having trouble keeping the contents of their stomachs down. Boomer's recollections of the event made everyone's worst nightmares combined seem like sunshine and bunny rabbits.

"I got them out of there, but the person who put them there still hasn't been caught. They've probably already killed and tortured more kids by now..."

"Please, stop. I'm not sure I can take any more of this...," Blossom protested.

"Around the same time, I started to figure out what suffering actually meant. I met several people who were terminally ill. One guy had an incurable throat infection and ended up choking to death when his esophagus swelled shut, but what I remember the most was an old lady named Martha. She was ninety-three years old. She was diagnosed with lung cancer. I only talked to her once. At that point, I knew there was no going back to the way things used to be."

Boomer lowered his head. He scoffed and briefly moved his neck to the side.

"She was in so much pain..."

"No wonder you wanted out, bro," Brick acknowledged, "If we knew what was really going down, we would have cleaned up our act a long time ago."

"Too late for regrets now, I guess..."

Boomer sighed.

"We were told our whole lives that our only purpose was to kill the powerpuff girls. We were nothing but puppets to be controlled and manipulated. They were probably gonna' get rid of us after that. I'm done with all of it. Lucifer and Mojo Jojo can find somebody else to do their dirty work."

The others looked at each other.

"Lucifer," they all questioned simultaneously.

"Just read up on the religious texts of Christianity. You'll figure out Him's real name. He's a fallen angel cast down by God for his hatred of humanity."

"Wow," Blossom remarked, "This is a lot to take in."

"Boomer," Bubbles pleaded, "please come home. It doesn't matter what happened before. We all want you back."

Boomer was comforted somewhat by her words, despite his cynical outlook. He focused his attention on her.

"Bubbles..."

"Everything will be okay as long as we stick together."

Boomer slung his bag around his shoulder.

"You're right. It's time to go home."

Together, the party melted the igloo with their laser vision. They ascended into the air and began their journey back to Townsville.

"What's in the bag, anyway," Brick inquired curiously.

"My CD player, some CDs, a couple magazines: that kind of stuff."

"You'll have to show me when we get back."

"Sounds good."

"We love you, bro."

"I love you guys, too."


	3. Interlude

Blossom opened one of the windows to the girls' room. They floated back inside. Shortly before leaving to find Boomer, they had repaired the damage to the wall caused by Brick and Butch's intrusion.

"I'm tired," Boomer spoke, "Just let me rest for a while..."

He pulled out his headphones before descending to the floor. He lied on his back, using his coat as a makeshift blanket. Silent tears started streaming down his face. The others watched on as they were pulled into the hellish dimension known as reality with him.

"One of us should keep an ear out for the professor so we can hide the boys if he comes in here. I really don't feel like explaining this whole situation right now..."

"I'll listen first," Brick offered.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Butch, Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles found their own places to rest. Sadness rained heavy over their heads, and it reflected in the shift in the weather which soon followed. Boomer allowed himself to be lulled into subconsciousness by the onslaught of hard-hitting drums, soul-crushing riffs, and pained screams that assaulted his ears.

* * *

_"Dare me to breathe when I can't catch my breath! Sway my temper's balance...!"_


	4. Turn Around

Boomer opened his eyes. At first, he couldn't comprehend where he was or how he got there, but after a moment, the haze began to clear. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. The environment seemed a fair bit darker than he remembered.

"Morning, bud," Brick greeted as cheerfully as he could manage, "How'd you sleep."

"Okay, I guess. Where are we?"

"Their pops came home, so we had to move to the closet."

"You carried me here...?"

"Yeah: you and Butch."

"Thanks..."

"Don't mention it."

"Hey...Guys...I'm sorry about what I said yesterday..."

"You're worried about that? Compared to what you've been through, a few mean words are nothin'."

"Still..."

Brick placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Hey, we're always gonna' be here for ya', no matter what, ya' hear?"

"...Yeah..."

"Bloss and the others are at school right now."

"What about the professor?"

"He's gone for now. Wanna' stretch out our legs a bit?"

"Doesn't really matter one way or the other. We're no safer from the psychos out there anyway."

"Huh?"

"Do you guys keep up with the news?"

"Not really."

"The year started with a bunch of idiots saying they were gonna' blow up the world."

"For real...!?"

"Now they're trying to move to space so they can blow up other planets, too."

"Are they trying to blow up all the planets...?"

"I don't know, but if they are, we can't do anything about it. The six of us can barely stop two missiles, let alone a hundred."

"Holy crap..."

"To make it worse, people all over the world are saying they want it to happen. They want to drag everyone down to hell with them."

"And I thought Butch was crazy."

"Yeah, no," Butch refuted, "There's a difference between crazy and stupid."

"Could have fooled me."

"Funny," Butch replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Maybe we should just stay here for now," Brick advised, "There's nothing we can really do for the time being anyway."

"Yeah," Boomer agreed.

"Hey, you want to show me what kind of music you got?"

"Sure."

Boomer reached into his bag. He pulled out several CDs, taking the one in his player and restoring it to its original case. The brothers' eyes began to glow so they could more effectively see in the darkness. Brick sorted through them until he found one that was particularly interesting to him.

"Why's there a creepy dude on this one?"

"That's 'A Blaze in the Northern Sky' by Darkthrone. I think it's called black metal if i'm remembering right. Some of their music is about winter and snow and stuff."

"Pop it in."

Boomer did as his brother requested. Brick took the headphones. A few seconds later, his ears were greeted by fast drums, ominous guitars, and demon-like screams. He could feel the cold chill of the Norwegian landscape where the album was recorded nipping at his skin. It felt like he had been transported to a completely different world.

* * *

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup returned home later that day to find the boys still in hiding.

"Have you guys been here all day," Blossom asked them.

"There was nothing else we could really do," Brick answered truthfully.

The professor won't be home for a while. You...Want to hang out with us...?"

The boys looked at each, then nodded.

"Yeah. It's better than feeling sorry for ourselves all day, I guess."

"Won't argue with you there. You guys definitely look like you could use some cheering up."

"That's the understatement of the year."


	5. Anti-Opposition

"Do you really think there's gonna' be a nuclear war," Blossom asked with concern.

"I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me," Boomer answered honestly, "Nothing does anymore."

Brick raised an eyebrow.

"What's a nuclear war?"

"Nuclear weapons were developed in 1945 during world war two," the leader of the powerpuff girls informed him, "The details are kind of fuzzy, but from what I remember, they were made under the name 'The Manhattan Project'."

"Like New York?"

"I'm not sure. The goal was to create a weapon so powerful it could destroy an entire city in the blink of eye. Obviously, they succeeded."

"We can do the same thing."

"Yeah, but we have control over our own actions. We can choose not to do that. These weapons belong to governments who are constantly threatening each other and the world at large. We basically have a gun pointed to our heads 24/7 and we're just hoping it doesn't go off."

"Oh..."

"The worst part isn't even the explosion itself. After a nuclear bomb goes off, it mixes poisonous waste called radiation with dust and debris in the atmosphere above Earth, creating a dangerous aftermath called fallout. Temperatures start dropping dramatically, and that's the beginning of thermonuclear winter."

"Holy crap..."

"Even when the nuclear winter is over, the radioactivity keeps poisoning people and animals, and the soil becomes contaminated, making it impossible to grow food. Any people who are left would likely die of starvation and radiation illness. A nuclear war would, without question, wipe out all life on the planet."

"Why hasn't it happened yet?"

"People say it's because of a theory called 'mutually assured destruction'. If one country uses a nuclear weapon, the others will do the same."

"That means nobody will use them, right?"

"It used to be a good theory, but the world's a lot different than it was seventy-five years ago. More people have nuclear weapons now than they did during world war 2, and some of them might not be afraid to die."

"How many nuclear weapons are there?"

"Way too many: between fourteen and fifteen thousand. That's enough to destroy the world hundreds of times over."

"Wonderful...," Brick muttered sarcastically.

"What can we do," Boomer questioned.

"This is where there might be some good news. There's a movement going on around the world calling for the disarmament of nuclear weapons."

"Disarmament?"

"Getting rid of nuclear weapons altogether. The people behind it have studied nuclear weapons for years. They know the effects and the fear these weapons have caused. They want them gone as much as everyone else."

"Do you think they can do it?"

"The abandonment of nuclear weapons probably won't happen in our lifetime if we survive that long."

"Then...We're screwed either way..."

"Not necessarily. I have a theory of my own."

"I'll take anything at this point."

"For the time being, I'm calling it Continual Nuclear Reduction, or CNR. It would work like this: Nations with nuclear weapons would start reducing their stocks and easing some of the tension. During that time, world leaders would keep in contact with each other and start proposing as many peaceful resolutions to armed conflict as possible. If they were to find common ground outside of politics, they could more effectively communicate. The biggest obstacle would be for countries to come clean about things that could have been handled better, but weren't because people were too angry to think clearly. It's hard for people to admit when they're wrong sometimes, but things get better when we do. Just ask Buttercup."

"Yeah, yeah," Buttercup acknowledged begrudgingly.

"That's the best idea we could probably go with right now," Boomer concurred, "Saving the world from nuclear destruction would probably make you the ultimate superheroes."

"Then we all agree. Don't destroy the planet."

The others nodded.


End file.
